Home & Work The boys and I were busy packing boxes to move to a new house in town at the end of August.  We sold our place outside of Grape Creek and moved to a smaller home in San Angelo.  This is going to be a big adjustment for the three of us and our two dogs.  My registered border collie, Booker, and my Pyrenees Maremma cross, Brutus, have never lived in town.   It is important to make changes with your LGDs slowly over time.  Things like… Read More →

Home & Work My boys are finally registered for their college courses after more than two months of delays due to Covid-19 closures and will be starting classes at the end of the month.  That was quite an ordeal to go through with limited personal interaction due to the lockdown.  Hopefully no one has been too inconvenienced trying to contact personnel at the San Angelo AgriLife Center; we are back working at 50% capacity at our location until further notice. We are gearing up for the next phase… Read More →

This is a new section to The Guardian Way in which I will give you a brief update on things happening for me at home and work.  In May, my twin boys graduated from high school in Grape Creek.  Although it was not your traditional ceremony, which I’m sure most were not this year, the boys were excited and happy to finally put that chapter of their lives behind them.  It was sad for me, being a former teacher who  saw so many traditional graduations of my past… Read More →

LGD Webinar On May 1 we held our first LGD Webinar with over 90 people actively watching during the events scheduled time. We discussed several things regarding the LGD program at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service Center, from inception to the current time, including the puppy bonding program. We reviewed our initial results of the set of six pups that we bonded last fall. We also reviewed GPS tracker information and had a panel of three local producers. I would like to thank our producers,… Read More →

How to Select an LGD Puppy – Part 2 This is the final part of a two-part series on selection of a Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) puppy. Hopefully after reading this article producers will be able to make a more informed decision on selecting an LGD puppy. I would again like to thank all the LGD breeders in our local area, AgriLife Staff and other university staff across the nation for providing input into this valuable project for livestock producers. Look for a pup with a calm temperament… Read More →

How to Select an LGD Puppy – Part 1 This is the first part of a two-part series on selection of a Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) puppy. I frequently get questions from producers new to LGDs about how they should select a puppy. Many of them have purchased yearling or older dogs for their first LGD and now want to train their own LGD. I would like to thank all the LGD breeders in our local area, AgriLife Staff and other university staff across the nation for providing… Read More →

Proper Diets for LGDs Don’t be penny wise and a pound foolish when it comes to feeding your LGD!  Proper nutrition for you LGDs is extremely important if you want them to consistently perform at their optimum level while protecting your herd.  We recommend that you feed your LGD a high-quality dog food with animal protein as the first ingredient with a high protein and fat content.  This type of kibble will provide your LGD a balanced diet to meet their daily requirements throughout the year. According to… Read More →

Feeding Systems for LGDs: One of the most common questions that producers with LGDs have is about is feeding their dog/s.  Most owners choose to use self-feeders for convenience.  There are several options available in a range of prices with and without automation.  Using a self-feeder will keep you from being locked into a specific time to feed the dogs.  It also means there is always free choice food available to the dogs, so they’re never away from the herd looking for food.  They seem to stay quite… Read More →

How LGDs Interact with Predators Many producers complain that all their LGD does is bark from early evening through the night and into the early morning.  Why do LGDs bark all the time? As reviewed last month in the article “Do LGDs Need to be Aggressive?”, LGDs use three different methods that have been bred into them for 1000’s of years to control predation.  According to research by Dr. Van Bommel of the Australian National University, LGDs control predators in three ways: territorial exclusion, disruption and confrontation.  … Read More →

Do LGDs need to be aggressive? If producers feel like they need to find more aggressive dogs they first should determine if they have predators that normal LGDs can’t control.  From our experience and discussion with Texas ranchers using LGDs, this is not a problem.  On the other hand, issues that are problems with many LGDs, such as roaming, being too fearful of humans, and rough behavior with livestock could be made worse by selecting more aggressive LGDs.  While it is important for an LGD to protect their… Read More →